The Star Factor

How YouTube Beauty Gurus Master Commerce and Controversy

A couple of months ago, the largest e-commerce launch in the history of the internet hit the worldwide web. The culprit? A makeup collection collaboration by YouTube entrepreneurs Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star. The Conspiracy Palette and its respective collection dropped on November 1, 2019, selling out in only a few hours and causing retail websites to crash almost immediately. The hashtag #ShaneDawsonxJeffreeStar also trended on Twitter for over fourteen hours during the initial sale, during which they sold over 1.1 million eyeshadow palettes between their regular and mini formats.

In the major commercial force that is YouTube’s beauty community, drama and exposure have become a primary selling point for online retailers. There is a direct correlation between the popularity of online influencers and the amount of controversy they seem to be involved in.

The level of the collection’s success was a surprise to its creators. “We broke the internet,” Star declares in a video posted on November 10.

“It has been so insane to not only be a part of it, but to be an owner of the brand, to collab with my best friend and have it do so well.”

The accomplishment, however, was not completely out of left field. Throughout most of 2019, Dawson and Star pre-filmed a documentary series of videos that chronicled Dawson’s introduction to the beauty industry. The series is truly a masterclass in product marketing and irony, especially as Dawson’s anxiety about the success of the collection takes up a majority of the screen time.

The first six episodes (released weekly ahead of the launch) exposed secrets of the cosmetics business as Dawson and Star developed their collection from scratch. The various installments also documented the dramatic events that plagued their lives during this time, including a substantial robbery at Star’s warehouse and the resurfacing of an older joke by Dawson about performing a sexual act with his cat.

The online entrepreneurs are no strangers to controversy. As their separate careers on the internet progressed, the two have been on the receiving end of backlash for their previous racism, which partially includes Shane’s use of blackface in old skits and MySpace videos of Star using racial slurs. Star in particular has been involved in many feuds with other high-profile beauty companies, a notable instance being the James Charles and Tati Westbrook beef that took place in May of last year.

After Westbrook’s initial video accusing Charles of predatory behaviour and disloyalty to her brand, the latter set a record for the largest drop of subscribers in 24 hours while Westbrook gained over 4 million subscribers in the following days, reaching a new peak of popularity. The feud was labelled ‘Dramageddon 2.0’ by those in the makeup community. As of 2020, Charles has regained almost the entirety of his lost followers and Westbrook has reasonably maintained her surge in popularity, announcing her very own cosmetics company and debut eyeshadow palette in late October.

As episodes of Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star’s series were released, fans noticed a lack of coverage regarding the James Charles fight that included Star, despite the fact that Westbrook and Star each publicly confronted Charles on his alleged predatory behaviour towards straight men. Soon after the launch and the episode that accompanied it, Dawson announced that he was debating whether or not to put an end to the series, therefore excluding any footage of the aforementioned scuffle. He took to Instagram Live to express his doubts, stating:

“That last video felt like the end. It felt like a finale to me.”

The move divided fans of the YouTube star. Commenters accused Dawson of manipulating his audience and inserting footage of the drama in the trailer to hype the release of his collection, while others supported the decision to leave the past in the past. Nevertheless, Jeffree Star has suggested that while they have been on the fence, there will be a proper conclusion to the series and implied that the James Charles drama will be touched upon in some capacity. “We have nothing to hide,” the mogul says before tapping the excess product off from his brush.

It is perfectly acceptable to theorize whether the removal of the never-before-seen footage of Dramageddon 2.0 was intentional. “It’s going to cause even more interest,” says Shane Dawson fan Isabella Izzo. “Which might be what he’s going for.” Dawson did eventually post a real finale on November 22, including just enough of the James Charles fiasco to say that it was included, but not quite enough to satisfy fans aching for more drama.

When money and success on the internet is so dependent on clicks and views, any sort of conflict is sure to be followed by dollar signs. Any publicity is good publicity on the internet. The overwhelming popularity of reality television is built on the same foundation. Just look at something like Jersey Shore or the Kardashians, a family who have reached their fame due to impeccably timed scandals and buzzworthy news stories. Their own series is a precursor of sorts to Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star’s succession of videos. Uncoincidentally, one member of their clan previously owned a wildly successful cosmetics line and is a direct competitor to Jeffree Star Cosmetics.

“I think the marketing technique of using a video series was kind of ingenious…it’s not something that I’ve personally ever seen before,” says Isabella Izzo, who purchased multiple items in the Conspiracy collection. “I like how it allows the viewers to have a look in on the process.”

Overall, the liquid lipsticks were her favourite product from the collection. She praised their formula, a vegan and cruelty-free blend that Star is known for, but questions the naming of certain shades based on other notorious YouTube figures.

Meanwhile, NikkieTutorials, a beauty guru with over 13 million subscribers on YouTube, was one of the first to review the Conspiracy palette and the rest of the collection prior to its release. In her summary at the end of the video, she stated, “There is a beautiful variety between neutrals, bright colours, funky shimmers…This is a truly unique palette that you can wear on a daily basis.” While she notes the amount of powdery fallout in the makeup pans, she compliments the docu-series process and laughs as she says, “I feel like a lot of people are gonna grab this.” She was right. But was there really any possibility of her being mistaken?

Nevertheless, the Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star collaboration set a higher standard for e-commerce productions and clearly emphasizes the dominance of the beauty industry in the contemporary business world. The success of the collection proves that young people, and young women in particular, are the pillars of modern-day consumerism.

Dawson has also since announced a new channel, ShaneGlossin, with more of a beauty focus, indicating that he plans to continue his beauty career. As for the fallout of the docu-series, only time will tell if future Shane Dawson/Jeffree Star collections and controversies will run amok on YouTube’s beauty community. Perhaps they will break even more records.